Scarlet
by YellowWednesdays
Summary: Katherine and Elena are identical twins, they grew up in Mystic Falls thinking the small town was just that, a harmless small town, but is it true what they say? Smaller the town bigger the secrets? I suck at summaries. AU, non cannon couples
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:_ so i'm not entirely sure how long this is going to be, but i do no know where it's going. None the chracthers belong to me, no copyright infringment intended blah, blah, This is AU, and will not be in cannon couples. Anyway, on to the story!_**

_The blurry figure got clearer as it inched towards me, my heart thudded in my ears harder as the figure began to get closer, it appeared to be the silhouette of a man._

"_Run" a voice inside me said, the urge was undeniable but my feet were rooted in place, I couldn't move. I opened my mouth to scream when I felt a hand cover it, I felt arms snake around my waist and breath on my neck_

"_Shh" the man said in a hoarse whisper_

_I struggled in his arms but it was no use, I couldn't even move_

"_Shh I won't hurt you" he said his mouth pressed into the flesh of my neck, he ran his nose against my jaw and down my neck and inhaled deeply_

_"This won't hurt a bit" he said, I felt pressure on my neck, pain and then-_

I awoke to Katherine's laughter

"Morning little sister" she said distractedly looking at me through the reflection of our mirror still applying eyeliner

"Morning" I mumbled groggily pushing the sheets off my legs

"You know, if I wasn't already up, all that screaming and thrashing you did certainly would've done the job" she said, her voice bored and distant

I shot her a glare "Thanks for the concern, no, no, I'm fine, it was just a silly dream, I'm not still freaked out about it or anything, thanks for asking" I said my voice dripping with sarcasm

Katherine sighed deeply "Ok, your right Elena, what was the dream about?" she asked putting on a mock serious face

"It's the same one I keep having." I said quietly, she dropped her tube of lipstick on the pile of her makeup and turned around to face me

"The one about the creepy guy in the alley?" she asked, I nodded

"What if it's a warning or something? I mean I've had this dream every night for a week now." I said burying my face into my hands

Katherine laughed "I think your reading to much into this, or hanging around Bonnie too much" she said snickering

I scowled "Bonnie actually knows what she's talking about half the time, unlike you and half the other empty minded idiots at school."

Katherine rolled her eyes "The girl is a freak, always going on about spells and the full moon I mean, does she actually think she's a witch?" Katherine asked going back to doing her makeup

It was my turn to roll my eyes "Yes Katherine, she does, it's apart of her religion. She's Pagan, remember?" I said tiredly

"Whatever she needs to pray to Jesus like the rest of us and try to wear some normal clothes" she said in typical Katherine fashion. Sometimes I wondered how we were even related, let alone twins. I got the rest of the way out of bed and threw on some jeans, putting on a tank top and grabbing a hoodie, I headed to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth quickly, threw my hair up in a messy bun and quickly applied some mascara and chap stick and went to grab my bag. Grabbing my phone off the counter I shoved it in my back pocket and looked to Katherine who was sitting crossed leg on her bed, looking at me patiently, and eyebrow quirked.

"Ready?" she asked pulling out her blackberry probably to text Damon and tell him we were ready to be picked up, I nodded

"Alright he'll be here in five" she said looking at her nails

Both me and Katherine have known Damon since we were 8, when he moved here with his mom next door. Me and Damon have been best friends since we met. But even when we were children Katherine only tolerated the best, effectively removing Damon from her radar. Back then Damon was a small boy, with scrawny arms and legs, his hair not even long enough to cover his ears, he was pale too, a pasty quality to his skin. He didn't have all the new toys, and he wasn't interested in many things the others boys were into, including Katherine. So as two outcast, we bonded and still 8 years later are best friends. Even though Katherine and I are identical twins, we are completely different. She's the social butterfly, the cheerleader, the cool twin. I much prefer the background . When we got to high school Damon went from average height to 6'2 in a matter of months towering over my 5'5 stature. He grew his hair out, black silky waves that always ended up in his eyes. He learned how to dress and coordinate, bought a motorcycle and a matching leather jacket, put some weight on and now even had a slight tan to his still pale skin, and turned into the hottest guy at school. Still, he never changed. He still possess the same dry sense of humor and wit, and he still has me for a best friend. He did acquire something new though, Katherine as his girlfriend. As soon as Katherine caught sight of the new and improved Damon, she was ready to pounce. Three months into sophomore year they were dating, it's now almost been a year, we're juniors, and today is barely the third day of school yet it feels like I've been going for weeks now.

The honk of Damon's horn broke me out of my daydream and me and Katherine made our way downstairs and out the door, there Damon's black Mercedes awaited.

Katherine opened the passenger door and climbed in, I opened the back door and plopped down, dropping my bag at my feet

"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls" Damon said smiling crookedly, looking at him was still kind of a shock. I was so used to his awkward faze, I never really noticed how he looked but now it was hard not to, his ice blue eyes such a contrast from his stark black hair and pale skin

"Hi baby" Katherine said smiling hugely and planting a lingering kiss on his lips, I looked away, they made me really uncomfortable sometimes

"And my, my, don't you look stunning this morning" Damon said smirking, taking in my disheveled hair and comfortable clothing

"Shut it Salvatore" I said testily and he chuckled

"Feisty Lena this morning, I like" he said turning around and smiling crookedly, wagging his eyebrows at me, I scowled

"Drive." I deadpanned and his smile somehow got bigger, his dimples making it really hard to keep a straight face

He turned around and pulled out of our driveway and to school we went. Katherine chatted eagerly about plans for the cheer squad, and what we were going to do for our "17th birthday extravaganza" he pulled into the school parking lot and by some miracle we were at least 4 minutes earlier than our usual 10 minutes late

"Alright so I'll see you both at lunch!" Katherine said kissing Damon's cheek and hugging me with one arm. We watched her disappear into the schools entrance heels clicking against the asphalt, she was the coordinated one too, I would've fell flat on my face.

"So off to English we go Lena" Damon said hooking arms with me and leading us to Ms. Hamilton's exciting English class, I sighed, this was going to be a long day.

_**A/N: Chapters will most defintily be getting longer but right now they will be short-medium sized. Review, Review, Review! I can't get better if you don't!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hamilton's Class wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, it was worse. If it weren't for Damon I think I would've actually died from boredom, seriously watching paint dry had to be more interesting. After Hamilton's I was off to Mr. Benson's for Trigonometry, and then Mrs. Lockhart's for chemistry, and thank God after that it was lunch, coming out of Mrs. Lockhart's there was Damon leaning on the wall, arms crossed.

"Ready?" he asked giving me a small smile as a greeting

"Yeah…where's Katherine?" I asked he sighed and shook his head

"She's with Caroline, apparently the 17th birthday extravaganza couldn't wait to be planned" he said rolling his eyes, I sighed

"Right, her and Caroline can't wait to plan _our_ 17th birthday extravaganza" I said scowling, It's not like I actually cared about having a party but still she wasn't even going to talk to me about it?

Damon and I started walking when I felt a tap on my shoulder, chills went down my spine and my skin prickled, I turned around quickly and sighed in relief when I found Bonnie standing there, smiling. She was wearing a neon pink tutu with black fishnet stockings, her feet clad in black combat boots. Her shirt was simple, and black and her outfit was finished off with a lace black cardigan. She wore her simple silver Goddess symbol around her neck, her black hair in waves and her hazel eyes lined with eyeliner.

"Someone's jumpy today" Bonnie said chuckling and I sighed.

"Yeah, I know. I just keep having that weird dream and it's got me paranoid." I said dejectedly Bonnie's forehead creased

"If you keep having it, it must mean something." she said I nodded

"I think so too." I said and then we were silent making our way to the end of the lunch line. I grabbed a salad and an apple, and Bonnie and Damon were already waiting for me with their trays. We made our way to our usual table finding Katherine and Caroline cooing and giggling over a pile of magazines

"Hey babe" Katherine said as soon as she spotted Damon, getting up and kissing his cheek quickly and pulling him down to sit next to her.

"Ok so I can't choose between the purple one or the blue one I mean the purple one would totally look great with my skin tone and if I curled my hair, but I love the neckline on the blue one, what do you think?" she asked, Damon looked at me across the table eyes wide, I snickered into my hand

"Uh-" Damon started

"I mean I really like this one too" Katherine continued to talk about dresses, her eyes glued to the magazines in front of her. Damon looked at me and mouthed 'Kill me now' and I choked back laughter, before she could start talking again Damon stopped her

"Look, sweetie, you'd look amazing in any one of these, maybe this is something you should talk to Caroline about" at the mention of her name Caroline looked up from her phone

"Fine" Katherine pouted and Damon kissed her lips briefly, or what started out briefly, Katherine wound her fingers into his hair pulling him closer, Bonnie gagged

"Oh God can you not? I'm trying to eat over here" Bonnie said scowling Damon pulled back and smirked, Katherine glared. The rest of the lunch passed in more talk about the party plans and usual conversation and then it was time to go back to class. The rest of the day passed rather quickly and before I knew it we were in Damon's car headed home Bonnie chatting eagerly about some of the books she had gotten on divination and dreams, saying she could probably decode what the dream meant with me.

"Alright Lena, short stuff, babe, home sweet home" Damon said pulling into the driveway. Bonnie frowned, since they had met freshman year Damon always made jokes about Bonnie's barely there 5'2 inches.

"Bye babe" she said kissing his lips and slamming the door behind her, making her way to the front door. I reached over the seat and ruffled his hair

"See you Salvatore" I said getting out and waiting for Bonnie who was still stuffing things into her bag that must've fell out sometime in the car or at school

"Thanks Damon" Bonnie said slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking up to the front door, Damon waved at us through the window and made his way down the street

Me and Bonnie made our way upstairs and sprawled out on my bed, she sat up and crossed her legs, pulling a book out of her bag and flipping through the pages.

"

Lucid dreaming, repetitive dreams, falling dreams…hmm…Prophetic dreams" she said pausing

"What if it was a prophetic dream?" she asked eyes still on the page, focused.

"You mean…like a dream of the future?" I asked my voice piqued with both interest and fear

"Yeah" Bonnie said nodding, looking up at me

"So I'm going to get attacked by some creepy guy in an alley? That's great" I said sarcastically

"Maybe Katherine's right, I'm probably just reading too much into this" I said lightly Bonnie sighed

"Maybe, Maybe not" Bonnie said cryptically, her hazel eyes more green than usual. Katherine was usually right about these things, I was being paranoid. Even though I knew that, I couldn't shake the feeling of fear I got whenever I thought about it. I shivered, looking out the window I could see the clouds start to roll in, a storm was definitely coming.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as I fell into a routine days passed so fast everything seemed blurry. And before I knew it, our "17th birthday extravaganza" was only two days away. Both me and Katherine had gotten our dresses, which she had searched at least over ten stores for the perfect one, and I found mine online. Hers was a fuchsia color that melded to every single curve of her body, reaching just barely after her knees. It had sequins making intricate designs on the bodice. She paired it with strappy silver heels that were dusted with glitter. I on the other hand, chose a simple navy blue dress that was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. It reached mid thigh, and flared out some, I bought black pumps to match.

"Ok so the cake needs to be picked up at 3:30 tomorrow so in can be ready for the dinner we're having at Damon's" Katherine said coming into the room and breaking me from my thoughts. We were having a birthday party on Saturday, but tomorrow, we were having a dinner thing with our aunt Jenna, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline and Damon's mom. Usually me and Damon would go to the movies or out to eat on my birthday but since he was with Katherine now, we were having a dinner party of sorts since Katherine had yet to formal meet Ms. Salvatore

"Ok, I'll get it" I said distractedly trying to finish the last few problems of my chemistry homework

"I'm nervous" Katherine said quietly I sighed and shut my book, I could finish up in the morning. I crossed my legs and turned to face her

"About what?" I said looking at her face, I was pretty sure of what she was going to say

"Meeting Damon's mom… I mean I know she loves you but you've been his best friend for years, what if she hates me?" she asked looking at me, eyes wide. I chuckled

Salvatore was one of the best people I had ever met, and true she was ferociously protective of Damon, but she trusted him and if Damon said Katherine was ok, then she was ok

Katherine scowled "I hope your right" she said getting up off the bed

"Of course I am" I said smiling she just shook her head and went into the bathroom. Since I had already taken a shower I put on a baggy shirt and a pair of shorts. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and I needed all the sleep I could get

"Happy 17th birthday!" is what I woke up too, and the sound of a party blower. I rubbed my eyes groggily and there stood Jenna wearing a bright smile and holding a tray with a plate on it, 2 chocolate cupcakes with a candle in the middle of them, I could help but smile I looked over and saw Katherine stretching and smiling at Jenna

"Thanks Jenna" I said laughing a little and taking a cupcake and quickly blowing the flame out. The cupcake was delicious, devils food cake, our favorite. The rest of the morning was a blur of running errands and making phone calls. Jenna handed us our presents before the party and we both got new laptops, mine in red and hers in pink. By 4:30 the cake was picked up, and we were all dressed and ready to go. Jenna drove us to Damon's and parked in the driveway. Katherine's eyes were wide

"She's going to hate me" Katherine whined and I rolled my eyes only frowning at her in response. Before we could even get to the door to knock Lucy swung it open, a huge grin on her face

"Elena!" she screamed and threw her arms around me, hugging me to her tightly. Lucy was a small woman, maybe a bit taller than Bonnie with thick black curly hair that fell to the middle of her back, and ice blue eyes just like her sons

"It's been too long since I saw you last" she said letting go of me and hugging Jenna. Katherine just stood there with the cake in her arms, smiling awkwardly. Finally Lucy looked at her and smiled

"And you must be who has my son smiling all the time, it's nice to finally meet you Katherine" Lucy said warmly smiling at her Katherine's cheeks reddened

"Thank you it's so nice to formally meet you Ms. Salvatore" she said hastily and Lucy laughed

"Oh dear God no, it's just Lucy. Ms. Salvatore was my mother" she said laughing heartily

"Lucy" Katherine said smiling

"Oh I'm so rude please come in and set the cake on the counter. Bonnie's already here and so is Caroline" she said opening the door wider and disappearing down the hallway. Katherine sat the cake on the counter and turned to look at me

"She's nice" she said simply I nodded I saw Damon walking towards her and he put his finger to his lips to keep me from saying anything

"I mean I was totally ex-" Katherine's sentenced was interrupted by her squeal as Damon put his arms around her waist from behind. He kissed her cheek and grinned

"Happy birthday baby" he said and Katherine's returning smile was bright

I looked at them and tried to keep my face as blank as possible, sometimes they really made me want to gag, they were so affectionate and sweet towards each other, it made me jealous that I didn't have that

I heard someone clucking their tongue in disapproval and found Bonnie looking deep in thought, she crossed her arms across her chest

"Your jealous" she said smirking, looking smug and adorable in a grey polka dot dress, converse on her feet

I nodded "Yeah, that I don't have that. I seriously have never had a stable boyfriend." I said sighing which was true, I dated but nothing serious. Bonnie shook her head

"Yeah sure, that's what it is" Bonnie said easily I quirked an eyebrow in defiance, I knew where she was going with this

"I'm going to shut my mouth because it's your birthday" she said hugging me tightly and handing me a small purple wrapped box. I smiled at her and unwrapped the box, inside was a beautiful moon pendant necklace

"It matches mine, see" Bonnie said showing me the sun pendant around her neck I laughed. They were both beautiful, and the gift was so Bonnie. I loved it. I hugged her excitedly

"Thanks Bonnie" I said and she smiled, beaming.

"Ok, dinners ready!" Lucy said from the dining room. We all headed to the table. Lucy made lasagna with home made garlic bread. It was delicious and I went back for seconds, and was tempted to go for thirds. After that we exchanged gifts. Lucy got me a beautiful blue sweater, that looked incredibly warm, and Katherine a black and pink scarf that Katherine squealed at when she saw. Caroline got Katherine the yellow Louis Vutton bag she had wanted, and saw online since this was Mystic Falls and we didn't have anything close to Louis Vutton here. Then it was Damon's turn

"Happy birthday" Damon said handing Katherine a silver tiny box, nestled inside was a silver chain necklace, with a pink diamond heart pendant, Katherine gasped

"Oh my God Damon it's beautiful!" she exclaimed throwing her arms around his neck he laughed

"I'm glad you like it" he said kissing her lips she sat down back in her seat and beamed.

Damon looked at me from across the table and smirked, oh this was going to be good

"Now Lena, you didn't think I forgot about you now did you?" he said eyebrows raised I frowned

He slid a pale blue box towards me

"Happy birthday Lena" he said I ripped the paper off and opened the box I gasped at what was inside. I was silent for a second, and then I began to laugh, Damon only smirked and chuckled along with me

"I can not believe you remember" I said shaking my head in disbelief and laughing some more

"What's so funny?" Katherine asked looking irritated that she wasn't in on the joke, everyone else seemed confused too

I pulled out the thin silver chain and examined it in the light, it was a delicate chain and the charm dangling from it was an ice cream cone, the ice cream a cotton candy blue with sprinkles on it

"It's amazing" I said

"It's an ice cream cone" said Katherine at the same time she looked over at Damon who was still smiling

"Why'd you get her an ice cream cone?" Katherine asked confused, still looking annoyed that she didn't understand

"It's how we met" I said simply grinning at Damon and everyone looked even more confused

"When we were 8 years old in our third grade classroom we had an ice cream party for doing well on the end of the year test, and there were some boys that always bullied me and they took my ice cream cone and stepped on it. I just stood there dejectedly, looking down at the smashed thing, when all of a sudden this little girl appeared next to me holding out an ice cream cone, she said she'd share with me" Damon finished, laughing at the memory

"How.." Lucy started smiling

"Touching" Katherine finished stiffly

I took the necklace and clasped it around my neck

"Thanks Salvatore" I said smiling at him

"No problem Lena" he said smiling back, Katherine cleared her throat loudly

"I think it's time for cake" she said dryly getting up from the table, Bonnie snickered

I shot her a glare. For the rest of the time we had cake, talked about old memories, and new ones and the tension from earlier was gone. I would have to talk to Katherine when I got home. Lucy while saying goodbye looked me deep in the eyes, her own twinkling

"For such a smart girl, you sure are blind Elena" she said shaking her head and hugging me tightly. I sighed. Everyone seemed to be so cryptic, still it had been the best birthday in a long time, I went to bed with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I am so sorry I haven't updated life just keeps getting in the way but either later today or tomorrow their will be an update. Thanks so much to those who have reviewed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N So sorry for the wait! Real life sucks. Anyway i'll be updating almost everyday and on from here the chapters will be longer. On with the story!**

C'mon, c'mon!" Katherine said excitedly bouncing on top of me, I moaned and looked over at the blue ancient alarm clock, it was 7:55am

"Katherine, what do you want?" I groaned, seriously it was Saturday, what the hell?

"It's the day of our party! We have so much to do!" She exclaimed her face bright with a smile. Oh, yeah. Today was the day. I had totally forgotten. This party really was for Katherine anyway, I was fine to close my birthday after the dinner at Damon's.

Caroline came into the room noisily her arms full of dresses, makeup, and other torture devices

"Let's get started!" Caroline said brightly

The rest of the day was spent putting up decorations, filling crystal bowls with chips, and having plenty of beer cold and ready. Jenna left at noon, she knew we didn't want her around for the party and she trusted us, well more me than Katherine. Me and Katherine got dressed and Caroline and her did my hair in big waves, lining my eyes with black liner and adding bronzer and blush to my cheeks, just enough to give a glow, they glossed my lips and now they were trying to get me to wear a pair of heels Caroline brought, that were way more extravagant than mine

"No way" I said with finality she pouted

"Oh come on Elena, it'll look great" she said looking down at my dress and then the shoes

"They're like 6 inches! I am not the graceful twin, I'm going to fall on my face" I said frowning. Katherine waved a hand at me

"You'll be fine" she said firmly Caroline nodded

"Oh yeah so is it ok if a friend of mine comes?" Caroline asked looking at Katherine because like I said, this party really was for her

"A friend of yours?" Katherine asked, eyebrow quirked

Caroline nodded "Yeah. My dads old college friend came to visit and is staying a while. His name is Klaus, and he brought his nephew. His nephews our age, so I just wanted to show him around welcome him, why not start with a party?" she asked rhetorically Katherine shrugged

"Whatever, the more the merrier" she said easily, she looked at me for approval I nodded, I didn't really care who came

The party started at 8, but people were pouring in by 7:30, the whole town was in our house I swear, I saw people I had never even seen before dancing and laughing

Damon showed up late, looking lazy in ripped black jeans, his normal leather jacket, and mussed hair

"This is quite the turn out" Damon said smiling I nodded

"Katherine loves it" I said smiling back at him

"And you don't." he said dryly I chuckled

"You know how I am with crowds" I shrugged easily Damon chuckled

"Oh do I, where's Katherine?" Damon asked looking behind him

"I don't-" I stopped mid sentence when I saw her giggling and walking down the hallway, her arm looped with someone else's

"Elena, this is Stefan, Stefan this is Elena" Katherine said a smile in her voice, a beer in her hand. He was tall, about Damon's height, with dark brown hair fixed in a disray that looked almost natural. He had startling green eyes, and a strong jaw, he smiled to reveal perfect white teeth

"It's a pleasure to meet you" he said, his voice like silk, he took my hand and put it to his lips, I shivered

"And this is my boyfriend Damon" Katherine sad gesturing towards him. They shook hands and Damon eyed him warily

"Your Klaus's nephew" I said like a question he nodded

"Yeah I am" he said smiling at me. Katherine giggled, I wonder just how much beer she had had

"Well come on, I want to show you the place" Katherine said dragging him back down the hallways, he looked back at me and goosebumps broke out over my flesh

"I don't like him." Damon said simply I shook my head

"Me either, he gives off this really creepy vibe." I had no idea what it was about him, but something was off. It wasn't until I looked down the hallway at his silhouette that I realized, it was familiar.

**A/N So you've met Stefan...thoughts? Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N short chappie, i know, i fail. it's been too long. Life has been slowing down so updates will be more frequent for now please bear with me and review, review, review! Next chapter is Stefans first day, but until then on to the story! **

_We're_ finally done" Caroline said sighing deeply. Finally after at least three hours of cleaning the living room was filled with trash bags. Katherine was sprawled out onto the couch her dang arm dangled limply on her side, and I was pretty sure she was drooling.

"I'm just going to crash here its too late to drive home" I nodded as Caroline looked around

"You can rake Katherine's room she probably won't be getting up anytime soon" I said shaking my head

"Ok thanks Elena" Caroline said making her way up the stairs

"Oh wait how long will Stefan be staying?" I asked

"Oh, not forever. But for awhile at least that's what he told me before he left. Apparently he's starting school with us on Monday" she replied I nodded slowly

"Oh…ok. Goodnight Caroline"

"Night Elena" she said already half way up the stairs. For some reason that news made my skin prickle, there was no doubt that Stefan was attractive, but he gave off a vibe that made me nervous. I took one last look at Katherine on the couch and made my way up the stairs, I slept restlessly that night.

I came downstairs to a sleepy Katherine pouring herself a large cup of coffee and rubbing her eyes

"Morning sunshine" I said sarcastically she groaned

"I feel like I've been run over by a truck" she said scowling I snickered

"Well maybe if you had taken it easy on the beer last night…" I said trailing off Katherine's eyes narrowed

"Yeah, well it's a bit too late for that bit of advice" Katherine said easily I shrugged

"Hey so, what was up with you and Stefan?" I asked seriously Katherine shrugged

"Oh, I was just showing him around" she said

"Oh, well you definitely looked Cozy" I said raising an eyebrow

"Yeah, I guess" she said shrugging

"Damon wasn't happy" I said

Katherine laughed "I'm sure he wasn't, he definitely seems like the jealous type, I'll make it up to him."

"He's starting school with us Monday" I said looking at her to see if she looked surprised

"I know" she said nodding "It's going to be great. Already everyone loves him" she said smiling

I shook my head. This is the Katherine I grew up with, as soon as something better came along, she wanted it. And with Stefan here now, Damon wouldn't be the best, not that he cared any but Katherine most certainly would. If other people wanted it, she had to have it. That's the way it's always been and I knew this was no different

"Yeah, I'm sure" I said my voice bitter. I got up from the table and went to call Damon all this talk about made me want to talk _to _him

He answered on the third ring

"Lena" he greeted, I could hear the smile in his voice

"Hey, you wanna do something today?" I asked

"Sure, what and where?" he asked

"We'll decide on the way" I said thinking about it

"Alright Lena" he said in typical Damon fashion, it was then I realized how long it had been since we really had talked

"Frozen yogurt or ice cream?" I asked popping a fry in my mouth

"Aren't they virtually the same thing?" he asked the spot in between his eyebrows creased

"No" I laughed "They are different, ice cream has way more calories" I said nodding

"Yeah, and you know, you don't hear kids like 'hey can I have some frozen yogurt' no, that just sounds lame" he said

I laughed "Yeah, but frozen yogurt is still pretty awesome" I said he laughed with me

"Whatever you say Lena" he said a small smile on his lips

"So apparently Stefan will be joining us at Mystic Falls High on Monday" I said trying to sound light he scowled

"Goody" he said frowning

"Should be interesting" said nodding

"Definitely" he said still scowling, yeah interesting it would be indeed.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I fail, so much, i know. Sorry for the wait but i hope it was worth it! 2 chappies at once! Anyway on with the story! Review!**

"Ms Gilbert, for the third time can you solve number twelve for us?" my head snapped up, I looked up and around, and then down and my textbook, I was pretty sure I was on the wrong page anyway

"Um 42?" I said the confusion I'm sure written all over my face, a few people snickered

"Nice try Ms. Gilbert, pay attention next time." he said and continued to drone about other math terms I had no intention to understand. Since this morning, the entire school had been buzzing. It was clear everyone in Mystic falls was excited about our new comer. Questions were asked in almost every class, who was he? Where did he come from? Stefan Petrova, it sounded Italian, was he Italian? How long would be staying? And the comment that came from every girls lips, and even some guys, wow he's hot. To say the least Damon was in a crap ass mood. Katherine had gotten a ride with Caroline so they could both be extra early to welcome him and show him around Mystic falls high, which put him in an even crappier mood. The bell sounded jolting me from my thoughts, throwing everything in my bag I walked out meeting Damon in the hallway. We walked silently to the cafeteria, oh he was full on brooding now. Crease between the eyebrows, frown perfectly set, fingers roughly being drug through his hair. We got our lunch quickly, both of us just grabbing side salads and waters, neither of us really hungry. He was trying to play it cool but I could see his blue eyes shifting, looking for Katherine.

"I haven't seen her either." I said offering he only nodded. I scanned the room too, first looking at our usual table finding no one but Bonnie and her friend Rose, I looked at the row next to our table, nothing, it wasn't until I heard an ear piercing squeal that I followed it.

"Oh my God" I said quietly but apparently loud enough because Damon followed my eyes, he said nothing and even though we weren't touching, I could feel his posture go rigid. There at the table, was Katherine draped across Stefan's lap, his green eyes dancing as he whispered something in her ear as she giggled. Caroline sat next to her with Matt, and they were laughing too.

Damon wasted no time walking over to the table and I followed behind him

"What the hell are you doing?" he said, venom lacing his every word, Katherine merely smiled, Caroline answering for her

"What does it look like? She's making Stefan feel welcomed" Caroline said laughing along with everyone else, Katherine turned to us, not moving an inch

"In case this wasn't a big enough hint, it's over." she said nonchalantly

"What do you mean it's over?" Damon asked slowly, Caroline scoffed

"Ugh, I'm so not one to get sentimental, can we skip the break up speech? It's over. Done. We are no longer a we." she said motioning with her hands

"Why?" Damon asked, his voice was hard but I could hear the quivering, fist clenched

"Because I found someone better" she said simply, Stefan smirked. Damon said nothing, and silently stalked off, everyone looking at him, I'm sure everyone heard what happened it wasn't exactly quiet.

I was seething

Katherine went back to whispering with Stefan, I was seeing red

"God nothing ever changes with you does it?" I said, my voice rising with every word

"Ele-" Katherine started but I cut her off

"Don't Elena me Katherine! Just don't! You've been this way since we were little, you get what you want and then you throw it away as it soon as something better comes along!" I said now fully yelling all eyes were on us, Katherine let out a nervous laugh

"C'mon Ele-" she started but I cut her off with the thing I had been trying to bite back for years

"You're just like her." I said my voice tense, hard. Her eyes widened, she got up off of Stefan's lap, everything was still

"What did you say?" she said eyes hard

"You're. Just. Like. Her" I said simply, quietly, I felt the rage I had been holding inside since the entire thing with Damon started, since that fateful December morning, stir in me, I couldn't stop "You're just like her!" I screamed "You turn innocent people into monsters, you are a monster! You're just fucking like her!" I yelled, if anyone was talking they stopped, some stared, others looked away

Katherine didn't miss a beat, and with a smirk said

"And you're just like him, to weak to do what needs to be done" she said cruelly, her smile twisted, tears welled up but I wouldn't give her the satisfaction, without another word, I left the cafeteria and looked for the nearest exit, I wasn't staying here, I couldn't

I looked around for Damon's car and as I suspected, he was gone, I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts and thought briefly of calling Jenna, but she was at work,

so I scrolled down to the L's and hit call

She answered on the second ring

"Elena honey?" Lucy said, worry clearly in her tone

"Lucy" I said my voice shaking

"Oh sweetie what happened?" she asked anxiously

"Can you just please come get me?" I said, tears finally escaping and running down my cheeks

"Of course, of course, I'll be there in 10" she said hanging up hastily, I sat on the corner, and finally allowed myself to cry

Twenty minutes later I was in Lucy Salvatore's kitchen, her embrace tight

"I'm so sorry sweetie" she said quietly, I sniffled and nodded

"You know, your mother, she wasn't a bad-" she started I cut her off angrily

"She was too a bad person! She killed him! She killed my dad with her selfishness, she didn't even show up for the funeral! Now she's god knows where! Still living, still breathing, while he never will again." I said sobs taking over again, Lucy rubbed small circles on my back

"She had big dreams, your mother. Too big for a town like this. Too big for your father. Some people are made for the sky Elena, they're born with big dreams and big hearts and then there are people like your father, anchors by birth. But your father loved your mom so much, God did he, and he wanted to escape himself so bad, he wanted to fly too. Your mom did that for him, gave him wings. She wanted to travel and live in a different city every year, she wanted the whole world, and to your dad, she was the whole world. He wanted it all with her. When she got pregnant with you and Katherine, he was ecstatic. And she was…happy, but, she didn't want to be tied down. She had you girls, and she wasn't happy. She wanted so much more, and that's not your fault, it's no ones Elena. She loved you, all of you, your father included, but she just wanted so much more. When she left, he was heartbroken. I had known Alaric since Jr. High, and never had I seen him that depressed, not since Lexi." Lucy finished

"Lexi?" I asked, dad had mentioned her once or twice, always smiled fondly at the name

"He told you about Lexi, yeah?" Lucy asked

"Well... I mean…he mentioned the name, but no details." I said shrugging, Lucy laughed

"Oh of course he didn't give details" she replied

"Tell me about her." I said simply, Lucy complied

"Lexi was a spit fire, that girl, she had no censor. If she thought about something, she said it. Half the time she didn't mean to but it just came tumbling right out anyway, she met me and your father when we were in 7th grade. Didn't change a bit as we got older. She always had something to say. She was your fathers best friend you know? Kept him in line. Whenever he was doing something stupid, she would just wait, then he would figure out he was being stupid and boy did she waste no time giving him a piece of her mind. He loved that girl, she had him at 'Who the hell are you, and why are you staring at me?'" Lucy said laughing

"What happened then, why didn't he marry Lexi?" I had heard about her only a handful of times, mostly because mom would interrupt whenever she was brought up, now I knew why.

Lucy smiled sadly "They dated. Many times. But Lexi, she was afraid. Your father was to quite the player," I nodded, I knew that, he used to joke about it all the time "And Lexi kept him grounded, true to himself. But your father, he wanted some big adventure, he was always searching for something bigger than himself. He loved Lexi, but he wanted to escape himself, your mother was the ultimate escape. In 11th grade, one day she just didn't show up. We never heard from her again." Lucy finished sadly

"Oh my God…poor dad" I said Lucy nodded

"He was broken. He got himself into a lot of trouble, drinking, breaking hearts, he always kept the goodbye note she left him, tucked in his jacket, his wallet, in fact, you probably still have at home" Lucy said with finality, I nodded

"I had no idea" I said in awe, I had just taken in so much information, god it had been a long day

"Now you do" Lucy smiled "I'll make sure Damon's texts or calls when he gets home, I'll give you a ride honey"

Katherine didn't come home, which wasn't shocking. I covered for her with Jenna, saying she was spending the night with Caroline. After I got home, I cried. For I don't know how long. I cried for Damon, for myself, for my dad who I missed more than ever, and now I just sat on my bed, staring. I needed to know if he had still kept it.

Quietly, I made it down the hallway and opened the room I had avoided as much as possible, the air was stale, the windows definitely needed to be opened, I went straight for the dresser. Dad always kept his wallet in his underwear drawer, somewhere on the side. I slid it open, and with a deep breath, dug around on the sides, my breath hitched when I felt the familiar leather. I pulled out the black leather wallet and opened it. Their were pictures, and his credit card, and in a zipper compartment, was a crinkled piece of paper, tears pooled in my eyes

I opened the paper slowly, careful not to rip it, it looked so fragile

_Alaric,_

_I could offer you an explanation, a reason, an excuse, but none of it would change anything. I have no real excuse, nothing good enough to keep yourself from asking why. I want you to be happy Alaric, and Isobel does that for you. My moms been offered a position in Vermont, she's going to take it, and I'm going with her. I have no doubt you'll be fine without me, I've taught you well Alaric, you've always been so strong, so much stronger than me. I'm not leaving with the notion that everything will be okay, or that I won't miss you like hell, but I'm leaving with the knowledge that you are loved, and well taken care of. I'll always love you Alaric, more than I should. Goodbye_

_Lexi_

A sob caught in my throat, I clutched the paper to my chest,

"I'm so sorry dad, so sorry" I whispered. I folded the paper back into a tiny square, and tucked it away back into the wallet, and returned it to the drawer. Just as I was leaving the room, my phone buzzed the screen read Damon

**I'm home. I'll see you tomorrow? We'll talk about it then. Love you**

I quickly typed a response

**Tomorrow's fine. Love you too.**

I went to bed with a heavy heart, and my thoughts all over the place.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It has been a longgg time, and I am such a hypocrite because I hate when authors do this, I was creatively blocked, but I am committed to this story, I will be updating tomorrow, and anytime I can. So, enjoy, reviews are needed and loved! **

Damon was silent the entire next day. At lunch he picked through his food, and sighed a bit, I looked over at him and offered a small smile. Katherine was there, despite not coming home, she sneered at me a couple times in the hall, but that's as about as close as commutation got between us. Katherine had always been more outgoing than I was, but she was taking it to a whole new level. She was clad in lace thigh highs, boots, and a leather mini skirt complete with a red shirt that was buttoned only half way. All the rage returned to me when she walked passed Damon and blew him a kiss, I got up quickly and Damon held to my wrist

"She's not even worth it" he said quietly, I sat down next to him and nodded.

When we got out of school I found Damon rested up against my car, waiting.

I took a deep breath "I'm driving I want to take you somewhere" He looked curious but kind of shrugged and slid into the passenger seat. I revved the imagine and we were on our way. It was nothing special, but whenever I was upset he would take me to the park and we'd feed the ducks. I knew he hated them though so now I just wanted to talk, and this was one of our places.

We got out and made our way to a small hill and sat down. It was quiet for a while

"My dad was in love with someone else." I said simply, Damon quirked a brow at me

"There was this women, Lexi, really good friends with your mom and my dad. My dad and her dated, more than once. And then all of a sudden she up and left when they were 16, they never heard from her again." I finished, he looked surprised

"My mom never told me anything about her. It sounds pretty messed up she just up and left but, that doesn't mean he was in love with her" he said

"It was just something about how your mom described it, call it woman's intuition or whatever, but I just know he was. And she was too. I went through his old wallet Damon, he still had the goodbye letter she had written" I said still myself trying to wrap my head around it all.

"That's amazing, and really depressing" he said dryly, I had to agree with him there. My dad was an easy going guy, he loved us, and he loved my mother no matter how selfish she was. He didn't deserve Lexi leaving like that, or my mother for that matter.

"I want to talk to her." I said simply, Damon's face was unmoving

"Lena, she knew him back when he was 16, and she left him. I don't think she's too interested in him or what happened to him" I shook my head

"You didn't read this letter Damon, she loved my dad, I don't care if she left him she didn't want too. She knew a side of my dad I never got to see. I want to know that him, I'm not going to go out to Vermont, but everyone has a face book, right?" I said. Even though my dad was easy going, he and my mother would fight all the time. I remember days where it was so bad me and Katherine just cried all day in our rooms listening to them go back and forth. Lexi obviously meant a lot to my dad if he kept the old letter all these years.

"If it's something you really want to do, I'll be here to help anyway I can" he said smiling at me, I beamed at him

"Thanks Salvatore" I said "How are you feeling?" I asked tentatively

"Shitty still, its no fun getting dumped in the cafeteria, especially while the girl is sitting on another's guy lap, but I'm holding." hr said shrugging

"Why did you ever date her?" I asked seriously, he looked down and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling

"I don't know. She's vivacious, alluring, charming even." he said

"Yeah, I know, but that's never been up your alley Salvatore" There had to be something deeper there.

"I'm a guy, its up all of our alley" he said easily, I chuckled

"You don't usually fall to the typical charm. Plenty of girls like her hit on you when you turned into some kind of Greek God, but you always were humble about it and declined, so what was special about her?" I asked

"You think I'm a Greek God?" he said, dimples on full display and eye brows waggling, I pushed him and he snickered "I don't know Lena, she was your twin, I figured under all the superficial shit she had a deeper side, and I kept looking, but I don't think I ever really found it" he said getting serious

Katherine was a kaleidoscope, She was a prism of light, she reflected what she wanted you to see. A classic case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As kids I can recall moments where she stood up for me, where she made hot milk during the lightening storms and opened the closet to check for monsters, but I can also recall rimes where all she thought about was herself. Where she used others to get what she wanted.

I nodded "She's my sister and I've only seen it a handful of times" I said dryly

After we left we went over to the grill and met up with Bonnie and one of Damon's friend Matt, he was blonde and extremely gorgeous. He hit on me and little bit in good natured fun, and ended up asking for my number, I wrote it on his hand. Damon was smiling, and kicking Bonnie's ass in a heated dart match and everything seemed to be pretty normal again.

When I got home Katherine was there, She nodded at me when I ran into her coming out of the bathroom, I scowled. I knew even if I did try to talk to her, she wouldn't say anything honestly, she would give me standard bullshit answers. Time would only tell if she was ever going to come to her senses.

I went to sleep and dreamed of falling, and blue eyes.

The morning dragged, each class seeming like it was its own lifetime, at lunch I was so grateful Bonnie was feeling particularly energetic, maybe she could drag me out of my stupor

"So, along with a couple of new books, my gran brought over some new herbs for me to work with, you should come over and check them out, maybe we could do a spell for Lexi, find out more?" I had told Bonnie about the letter and she was taking it like I was, she knew there had to be more than what Mrs. Salavatore told us. I had never done a spell with Bonnie, but I was definitely eager to try.

The rest of lunch was filled with banter, Damon both picking on us and generally being the pain that he was, we finished up in school and made our way to Bonnies house, Damon dropped us off

"As much as I'd love to witness some Sabrina the Teenage Witch action, Me and Matt have a project to finish, I'll see you and short stuff later" we thanked him and made our way into Bonnies House, her parents as Doctors, were never home. If she felt lonely she went to her Gran's otherwise it was Bonnie in this big house alone.

"Lets get everything set up shall we?" she said excitedly, I sat my bag down and sat down on the couch. Bonnie set up 3 Large crystal bowls on the coffee table one with water, another with a bushel of sage in it, and another that had some kind of blend of herbs in it. She sat up the candles with it, and lit some lavender incense "for clarity" she said. She began to meditate, I watched her intently, she was completely different when she was in the zone like this

She lit the candles and muttered some things under her breath

"look into the candle light of the yellow candle" she instructed me "you're going to do the scrying, I'm going to ask the universe and some spirits to help the message come through" she said, her eyes still shut

I did as she told me to do "Relax now, stare into it and let the images come to you" I took a deep breath, and gazed into the flickering dancing flame.

"_Alaric, there's just something about her-" I cut her off, we had been having this same conversation for weeks _

"_No Lexi, there's something about you. All these years you've been preaching about "settling down" and "committing" and now I find that in someone and all you do is try to tear us down, Isobel is right about you!" I said, spitting the words at her, her face contorted, I could see I had hit her weak spot_

"_Oh is she? So she's the one that helped you crawl out of the vodka bottles when you were out partying everyday of the week! I was ther for you every drunken and stupid step of the way and don't you ever forget that!" Her voice ripped through my chest, I felt my resolve crumble_

"_It's not about that and you know it! I'm happy now goddamnit why can't you be on my side for once" I felt my voice get louder, I saw her face sink_

"_So this isn't being on your side just because I don't kiss her ass and sing with joy for your relationship? There is something not right about that woman Alaric!"she was going to cry, I heard it in her voice_

"_I have to stand by her, I love her" she laughed bitterly_

"_You know what, that's fine Gilbertt" she grabbed her things from the couch, and slammed the door on her way out I-_

"Elena!" Bonnie yelled, I opened my eyes slowly

"What the hell just happened?" I asked slowly, my head was killing me

"You weregone for like 10 minutes what did you see?" she asked

"They were fighting, I was like watching it through my dads eyes, they were fighting over my mom" I said, did that really just happened? I have always believed in witchcraft but not like that

"Woah" Bonnie said slowly. I didn't know what to make of any of that, but I knew I needed to talk to her, soon.


End file.
